All time high for Lincolnshire tourism industry

The Lincolnshire tourism industry is at a high after new figures show a rise of £80m in 2015.

The latest STEAM figures have shown that in 2015 the county attracted almost 20m visitors, up 1.37m on the year before.

This took the value of the local visitor economy to £1.34bn, 33 per cent more than its value in 2010

Cllr Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development, said: “Tourism is a key industry for the county economy, and we’re working hard to attract even more visitors. These figures show that our efforts, and those of our partners, are paying dividends.

“With the re-opening of Lincoln Castle, the Magna Carta 800 celebrations and the visit of the iconic POPPIES: Wave sculpture, we’ve put Lincolnshire firmly on the map over the last two years.

“At the same time, tourism continues to boom in our popular coastal resorts, underpinned by the ongoing success of businesses like Butlins, who have invested millions in creating a bigger and better offer for visitors

“In addition, projects like the new visitor centre at Gibraltar Point and the outdoor theatre space at Chapel St Leonard’s are helping to extend the traditional tourist season, cementing our position as a coastal powerhouse.

“We’ve also recently seen a £8m re-vamp of Away Resorts Tattershall Lakes Park, underlining the confidence the private sector has in our potential as a tourist destination.

“And with the new Sutton Bridge Marina, the Mayflower 400 celebrations and much more on the horizon, I’m confident we can build on this momentum and break the £2bn mark by the end of the decade.”